Winona Health has again earned Quality Respiratory Care Recognition (QRCR). Fewer than 15% of the 5,000 hospitals in the U.S. have been named a Quality Respiratory Care hospital, and Winona Health has achieved this recognition annually since 2003.

Hospitals earning the QRCR designation ensure patient safety by adhering to a strict set of criteria governing their respiratory care services. To qualify for the recognition, hospitals must meet strict criteria including the following conditions:

  • Respiratory therapists are available 24 hours.
  • A doctor of medicine or osteopathy is designated as medical director of respiratory care services.
  • All respiratory therapists employed by the hospital to deliver bedside respiratory care services are either legally recognized by the state as competent to provide respiratory care services or hold the CRT or RRT credential.

Respiratory therapists are specially trained healthcare professionals who work under physician’s orders to provide a wide range of breathing treatments and other services to people with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis, lung cancer and other lung or lung-related conditions. They are key members of lifesaving response teams charged with handling medical emergencies.

Winona Health respiratory care providers are: David Beck, Tony Butterfield, Robert Elam, Kenneth Fordahl, Gary Haggerty, Kelly Haines, Tony Hibbard, Penny Kessler, Aleisha Leger, Kim McGuire, David Oliver, Carolyn Standlee-Hanson and Alberta Stetter.

The QRCR program was started by the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) in 2003. The program intends to help patients and families make informed decisions about the quality of the respiratory care services available in hospitals.

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